Paramount Theatre in Aurora launches BOLD Series on Copley stage

After two years of waiting, Paramount Theatre launches its BOLD Series, bringing a new, four-show subscription series and a type of live theater it terms “fearless, unexpected and thought-provoking” to the heart of Aurora’s downtown entertainment district.

The inaugural production is “Sweat,” Lynn Nottage’s acclaimed modern-day drama about life in an American Rust Belt town battered by the constant threat of company shutdowns. “Sweat” is the winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, a Tony Award Best Play nominee, and a landmark achievement of American theater. Performances are now through April 24.

Paramount also lifts the curtain on its new home for the BOLD Series, the newly remodeled Copley Theatre, across the street from Paramount at 8 E. Galena Blvd., in the North Island Center.

Following a two-year, $2 million, top-to-bottom renovation, the Copley is no longer an underutilized space, but an intimate, state-of-the-art theater with 165 comfortable new seats and a modern new lobby bar, ready to attract more audiences, a news release stated.

About ‘Sweat’

“Sweat” is set in a bar in an impoverished American town, where factory workers gather to laugh, talk and drink their cares away, despite the threat of company shutdowns. When promotions and layoffs are rumored, tensions and jealousy begin to rip apart their community. Can friendships and family endure when all hopes of economic stability and mobility disappear? An intense examination of race, class and the human costs of capitalism, “Sweat” captures the ever-present battle between human needs and business in America’s Rust Belt.

Veteran Chicago director Andrea J Dymond is director. The cast features Jordan Anthony Arredondo (Oscar), Tiffany Bedwell (Jessie), Emmanuel K. Jackson (Chris), Linda Gillum (Tracey), Joshua L. Green (Brucie), Bryant Hayes (Evan), Shariba Rivers (Cynthia), Randy Steinmeyer (Stan) and Gage Wallace (Jason).

The production team includes Jeffrey D. Kmiec, scenic designer; Yvonne L. Miranda, costume designer; Jessica Neill, lighting designer; Jeffrey Levin, sound designer; Jesse Gaffney, properties designer; David Woolley, fight choreographer; Khalid Long, dramaturg; Jinni Pike, stage manager; and Lanita VanderSchaaf, assistant stage manager.

Performance schedule

Previews began March 9. Show times are 1:30 and 7 p.m. Wednesdays; 7 p.m. Thursdays; 8 p.m. Fridays; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; and 1 and 5:30 p.m. Sundays. Tickets cost $67 to $74.

For tickets and information, visit paramountaurora.com, call 630-896-6666, or stop by the Paramount box office, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Monday through Saturday between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

“Sweat” is suggested for ages 16 and older due to strong adult language, racial slurs and stereotypes, violence and political content.

Pay What You Can performances

In order to break down barriers to experiencing live theater, Copley Theatre will offer two Pay What You Can performances: 7 p.m. Thursday, March 10; and 3 p.m. Saturday, March 12. Starting at 10 a.m. each day, visit the box office at 23 E. Galena Blvd. in person to request tickets. Customers will be asked how much they’d like to pay and will simply pay what they can. Limit four tickets per person. Offer not valid toward previous purchases. Online or phone purchases are not permitted. The Pay What You Can initiative is part of Paramount’s new program, REACH (Resources Expanding the Arts and Connecting Humanity).

Access services

If you require wheelchair or special seating or other assistance, contact the box office at 630-896-6666 or boxoffice@paramountarts.com in advance. Paramount offers assistive listening devices free of charge at all performances. Check in at the coat room before the show to borrow a listening device.

Paramount Theatre’s COVID-19 commitment

The Paramount is committed to the health and safety of all patrons, theater employees, production staff and artists, and adheres to federal, state and municipal COVID-19 protocols.

Until further notice, to ensure the safety of everyone in the theater, regardless of age, guests attending a performance at either Paramount Theatre or Copley Theatre must wear masks and have proof of being fully vaccinated. Negative COVID tests also may be presented, with restrictions. Guests who do not comply will be denied entry or asked to leave. Protocols may change in the future based on updated recommendations and mandates. For complete details, read Paramount’s full COVID Policy. If you feel you cannot follow the guidelines, contact the box office at 630-896-6666 to discuss your options.

Note: For patrons who need to schedule a test and are looking for a site close to the theater, a privately run COVID testing site will be open near the Copley Theatre at 5 E. Downer Place, Suite A, through March 26. Appointments and pre-registration are mandatory for this location. Space is limited and is on a first-come basis. Appointments can be scheduled via this link on Paramount’s website. For help locating other sites, visit IDPH Testing Sites.

What’s next in BOLD Series

Following “Sweat,” the series continues with “Hand to God” by Robin Askins, a darkly humorous shocker told “Sesame Street” meets “Exorcist” style, puppets included, May 25 to July 10. Next is the Tony Award-winning musical “Fun Home,” book by Lisa Kron, music by Jeanine Tesori, based on the graphic novel by Alison Bechdel, playing the Copley from Aug. 3 to Sept. 18. The 2022 BOLD Series culminates with “BULL: a love story,” Nancy García Loza’s world-premiere drama about a Mexican-American man who returns to Chicago to find a family who has moved on, and a neighborhood he no longer recognizes, Oct. 5 to Nov. 20.

Summing up the series, Paramount Artistic Director Jim Corti stated in the release, “Up close and personal, the BOLD Series calls audiences together urgently and right on time. By turns comic and cautionary, rendered by prize-winning, contemporary playwrights, passionate voices will soon be let loose in the dynamically renewed space of Paramount’s Copley Theatre. Come discover what we’ve found for you in these four inaugural season productions.”

After nearly two years since the original launch date of the BOLD Series, the time has finally come to lift the curtain on an exhilarating and new storytelling experience, Tim Rater, president and CEO of Paramount Theatre, said in the release.

“Housed in the beautifully renovated Copley Theatre, audiences will discover stories that challenge, enlighten, engage and entertain,” Rater said. “I could not be more excited to share these stories with our patrons, and hope that when the lights come up, the conversations will last long after the ride home.”

Four-show BOLD Series subscriptions are on sale now, ranging from $134 to $148. That’s a “buy two shows, get two shows free” offer. Single tickets to individual performances cost $67 to $74. To purchase subscriptions, single tickets or for more information, visit ParamountAurora.com, call 630-896-6666, or stop by the Paramount box office.